1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to a container for preparing dialysis concentrate having integrated supporting elements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The documents EP 1 344 550 and DE 10 2011 106 248.7 describe containers for preparing concentrates for dialysis. Containers having supporting elements are known from WO 2005/120972, for example.
In treatment of renal failure by hemodialysis, approximately 180 liters of dialysis solution are required per treatment. To minimize the cost of shipping and storage of these products, they are usually shipped in the form of concentrates, with the basic and the acidic concentrates being prepared separately for reasons of stability.
The basic concentrate is usually supplied as a dry concentrate consisting of pure sodium bicarbonate. A saturated solution is prepared from this by the dialysis machine in a flow-through process, which means that during the procedure, there is always a certain amount of undissolved salt present in the container. Water is supplied continuously and the saturated solution is removed continuously. The volume of the container for the basic concentrate thus corresponds approximately to the volume of the salt required for a treatment (approximately 0.5-1 liters).
The acidic concentrate is usually supplied as a liquid concentrate. It consists mainly of table salt and contains additional electrolytes such as magnesium, calcium and potassium chloride, the acid and possibly other additives, e.g., glucose, in much smaller amounts. If the acidic concentrate is supplied as a dry concentrate, it cannot be prepared in a continuous process like the basic concentrate. The concentrations of the components such as potassium and calcium, which are present only in very small amounts, must be maintained accurately to obtain a dialysis solution that is safe for the patient. The entire dry concentrate in the container must be dissolved before being diluted to form the dialysis fluid. In order for this to be possible, the container for the acidic concentrate must provide a much larger volume (approximately 4-12 liters) than the container for the basic concentrate. For shipping and storage, the container should only claim the smallest possible volume. A bag that can be folded to the smallest possible size and then unfolds when filled with a fluid is especially suitable for this purpose.
If the concentrate is present in dry form, liquid must be supplied to the container by the dialysis machine to dissolve the dry concentrate and then removed again after preparing the liquid concentrate. The container must therefore be attached to the dialysis machine with a connector in a fluid-tight connection. The containers are attached to the connectors of the dialysis machine via a connecting means. If the containers have a larger volume and thus also have a larger weight, this results in a tensile stress on the corresponding connectors.
The object of the present invention is to make available flexible containers for concentrates, which are as small and as lightweight as possible for shipping and storage. During use, they should provide a larger volume and they should have a great stability and the tensile stress on the dialysis machine should be largely prevented.
According to the teaching of the present invention, this object is achieved by a container, a use of the container, a dialysis machine, and a method as described herein. Advantageous features of the aforementioned emobodiments are also described herein.